PA Expanding Electric Vehicle Charging Along Turnpike

PITTSBURGH, PA — The Pennsylvania Turnpike is slated to open its first two federally electric vehicle charging stations next week, and one of them will be in Western Pennsylvania.

PennDOT announced the stations, built using money from National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, will open at the New Stanton and Blue Mountain service plazas next week. New Stanton is in Westmoreland County; Blue Mountain is in Cumberland County.

"The Shapiro Administration's goal is to use federal NEVI funds to build out an accessible and reliable EV charging network by meeting EV drivers where they are," PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said in a statement.

"The Pennsylvania Turnpike is one of the state’s busiest roads for long-distance travelers, especially over the holiday season, and opening the first NEVI-funded charging station on the Turnpike exemplifies that goal."

The additions at Blue Mountain and New Stanton are part of the turnpike's systemwide EV charging initiative. In partnership with Applegreen Electric, this program looks to add 80 new universal EV stations at all 17 service plazas by the end of 2027.

Beyond these new additions funded through the NEVI program, the PA Turnpike recently opened up new electric vehicle charging stations at North Somerset, South Somerset and Hickory Run service plazas through funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Driving PA Forward program. All of these sites offer high-speed chargers, with a total of
four charging ports per location, that support all EV types without the need for adapters.